The Minnesota Vikings were one of the NFL's biggest surprises in 2024. Kevin O'Connell had already established himself as a good head coach, and everyone could see that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had assembled a strong roster. However, no one expected Sam Darnold to turn the Vikings into a powerhouse.
Darnold, a former draft disappointment of the New York Jets, thrived under O'Connell's direction this season. and the rest of the team followed. While Minnesota couldn't secure a division title or the NFC's No. 1 seed, it finished with a 14-3 record and entered the playoffs as the league's scariest wild-card team.